Thanks to a newly created ad library, voters can see who takes the crown for biggest spender on Facebook ads.
The library was created in response to Bill C-76, which legislated online companies who allow ads about political and social issues during elections to disclose who paid for them.
Among North Okanagan-Shuswap candidates, the campaign for Conservative Mel Arnold spent less than or equal to $100 for three Facebook ads, while the Conservative Party of Canada spent $44,902 for a total of 461 ads from the party’s official Facebook page. Another page called The North Okanagan Shuswap Conservative Association had one ad paid for by an organization of the same name.
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While Harwinder Sandhu was not found in the library, a Facebook page called Canada’s NDP/Le NPD du Canada, ran by the NDP, spent $6,725 on 19 ads. Through two Facebook pages called Jagmeet Singh: On Your Side, the United Steelworkers Union paid $501 for a combined 13 ads.
Marc Reinarz was also not found on the list, but a Facebook page called Green Party of Canada shows the Greens spent $3,044 on a total of 12 ads.
Kyle Delfing was not found on the list either but a page named the People’s Party of Canada is listed and shows the PPC has spent $582 on 22 ads.
Cindy Derkaz’s Facebook page ran two ads for less than or equal to $100, paid for by the Liberal Party. The official Liberal Party Facebook page, called the Liberal Party of Canada | Parti libéral du Canada, spent $37,925 on 314 ads. Also paid for by the Liberals is Justin Trudeau’s Facebook page, with $42,632 spent on 1,467 ads.
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